The BBC soap’s hugely popular character Mel, played by Tamzin Outhwaite, was married to both Steve (Martin Kemp) and stalwart Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) during her four-year stint on Albert Square, and she finally made her return this week.
Showing up on Tuesday (January 9) night’s episode, viewers so far have only been treated to a brief glimpse of the character walking through the Arches as the credits rolled, after being dead-set on finding Ben Mitchell (Harry Reid).
Now, tantalising new images tease that Mel will visit Steve’s grave with her son Hunter Owen (Charlie Winter) in tow.
Dressed in a long berry-coloured coat, the sombre mother appears to be struck by grief as she comforts the 15-year-old boy, who stares down at the headstone solemnly.
In one snap from today’s filming, Mel stands back to let her son have a few moments alone with his father, but in another she seems uneasy waiting for his reaction.
Long-time viewers will remember that Mel was last seen leaving Walford pregnant with Steve’s baby, leaving fans wondering if she kept it ever since.
The character had been through the ringer following her disastrous marriage to Ian and then an even more toxic union with Steve on the soap, and her role ended just as Steve was killed in a car crash catastrophe that resulted in him being engulfed in flames.
Yet it seems that this time around Mel’s experience on the square won’t be any less drama-filled.
In upcoming scenes, Mel will gradually show her hand as she has reunions with former mother-in-law Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth) and Ian in the square’s cafe.
But while the father-of-three instantly seems taken by her return and attempts to rekindle their rocky relationship following his split from Jane Beale (Laurie Brett), Mel’s got her eyes elsewhere.
Spying Kathy’s glittering diamond necklace, a stolen item given to her by Ben during Tuesday night’s episode, Mel makes an incredibly telling comment about her reasons for returning.
That’s a lovely necklace, by the way,” she says with a cryptic smile, but Kathy immediately cottons on and attempts to downplay the item’s significance.
“Thank you, just a bit of costume jewellery,” she says breezily. “But it is pretty, yeah.”
Viewers are convinced that Mel is secretly involved in the events surrounding the New Year’s Day heist with Aidan Maguire (Patrick Bergin) that resulted in Mick Carter (Danny Dyer) getting shot.
Speaking about her return, 47-year-old actress Tamzin seemed to confirm the theory as she teased: “She doesn’t want to be there at all – she is back for a reason and this is a place with so many ghosts. She can’t bear that idea. What you see is her trying to play the right game to get what she needs.
“You never know what she’s up to,” she added.
EastEnders continues tonight at 7.30pm on BBC One.
